I have to say I can't really do it myself - just know the theory. But I'd try and go the PHP/MySQL route.
1. Your login page (using PHP) takes the username and password and hashes the provided password
2. A script compares it against the hashed password in the database
3. It matches or doesn't. If it does match (i.e. authenticates) you start a PHP session which allows the user into your private pages. PHP sessions are widely used for passing data from one page to another - it's what remembers what items you've added to your basket when shopping online, and remembers your username and password for each session so you don't have to login every single time you go to a new page.
"A fear of weapons is a sign of retarded sexual and emotional maturity." Sigmund Freud
Shooting is my meditation